Although primarily known for its ornate wooden villas, the nearby town of Otwock hides many more historical gems – including a forlorn Jewish cemetery…
Although primarily known for its ornate wooden villas, the nearby town of Otwock hides many more historical gems – including a forlorn Jewish cemetery…
Thought to have been founded around 1900 – when Otwock itself was beginning to flourish – the cemetery on Hrabiego street remains one of the region’s lesser-known secrets. Largely destroyed during the German occupation, and then later plundered by thieves searching for valuables, today it stands as an eerie but serene reminder of a world left behind.
Nowadays, around 900 tombstones survive, many of which have been tilted and twisted by the march of time. Often shattered and moss-clad, walking amid these Matzevah is a deeply contemplative experience, even more so when done in the misty half-light of an autumn day. Largely used as a burial ground for those that died in Otwock’s sanatoriums, this point is perhaps worth dwelling on.
Of these, Zofiówka is something of a must-visit. Abandoned for decades, it was founded as a Jewish psychiatric hospital. Later used by the Nazis to imprison Jews (and later still as a centre to ‘Aryanise’ kidnapped Polish children), the derelict network of buildings makes for an intriguing (and slightly disturbing) walk.
